Borscht Belt

Nickname for a resort region in the Catskill Mountains in southeastern New York State. It was once famous as a summer holiday centre for the prosperous Jewish community of New York City, and was named after the Russian-Jewish beet soup consumed at its overflowing dining tables.

The Borscht Belt lies mainly in Sullivan County, some 120-145 km/75-90 mi northwest of New York City. Jewish (and some Italian) immigrants in New York began to come to the area for summer vacations in the late 19th century. During the 1920s and 1930s, when the automobile made the area easily accessible, the hotel industry boomed. At centres such as Monticello, Kiamesha Lake, Ellenville, and Liberty, visitors were offered luxurious accommodation, generous menus, extensive grounds, sports facilities, and in-house entertainments (many notable comedians began their careers here). By the 1950s there were over 300 hotels in the region, but decline set in swiftly from the 1960s onwards. By the 1990s, fewer than a dozen of the old-fashioned resort hotels remained, but some facilities were being revived as ashrams, ‘New Age’ camps, and special-interest centres.